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Latest Surrogacy News
OnCampus: Body fluids solve
budget problems
By Ashley Schneider
Courier & Press staff writer September 12,
2003
As a
general rule, college students are poor. Between
tuition, books, housing, gas, credit card bills and cell
phone bills, those measly paychecks every two weeks
don't amount to a hill of pennies.
So what are you to do when you
find yourself strapped for cash and in desperate need of
Ramen noodles?
The one thing any starving
college student would do: sell bodily fluids - or, at
least, sperm, eggs and plasma.
Jason, a 22-year-old student at
the University of Southern Indiana, sells sperm for
extra cash, and said he usually makes about $50 for his
donation.
Jason, who asked to be mentioned
by first name only, said he first got the idea to donate
sperm for cash when he read an advertisement for a sperm
bank in the USI newspaper, the Shield.
"I was broke and needed some
extra money for books and school supplies and other
bills, so I decided to go ahead and sell what was mine,"
he said. "It all goes to couples who are having troubles
conceiving, so it's a good cause."
It really is a good cause.
Nearly 15 percent of all couples
have problems with infertility,
and 2 percent have problems with sterility, according to
a study by the American Society for Reproductive
Medicine. Sperm and egg donation come with some strict
requirements. Jason said all donors are expected to be
in excellent health, and most donation clinics ask for a
donor's complete medical history, along with his family
medical/genetic history as well. Donors will also have
to undergo testing to make sure they are able to donate
sperm or eggs.
Because of privacy laws, the
identity of sperm and egg donors are kept confidential.
In recent years, the United
States government has allowed children conceived from
sperm or egg donations to know the identity of the donor
in special cases. (In some other countries, including
Great Britain, the release of a donor's identity is
illegal in all circumstances and can result in
imprisonment and fines.) If you want to help someone
without having to worry about identity issues and legal
loopholes, donate plasma. Plasma is always in demand,
and it can save lives. (Note that you have to be in good
health to donate plasma, too.)
ZLB Plasma Services in
Evansville will compensate students up to $20 for plasma
donations.
How much money a donor makes
depends on the donor's weight and the number of times
the donor has donated plasma, ZLB assistant manager
Victoria Linford said.
"The more you weigh, the more
you can donate, and the more you get paid," Linford
said.
Another plus to donating plasma
is that you get tested for HIV, Hepatitis C and
Hepatitis B - free of charge. (Plasma donors have to be
tested for these diseases every time they donate.)
However, if you're like me and
the thought of a needle is enough to send you into a
dead faint, you can turn to the Internet and sell your
personal belongings on eBay. (Just don't sell your
sperm, eggs or plasma on eBay.)
If all else fails, just ask your
parents for some extra money. You'll probably find they
won't mind lending a hand - and you can keep all your
stuff, too.
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